Dave Pell’s word up: Got a social network with a lofty valuation? Dave Pell wants to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening?

Hint: It ain’t “plastics. “

Hot or not? An article in the NYT today about the toy-fication of a gadget, a “pen-top computer,” that didn’t catch on in the adult market, has me wondering something: How could such a goofy product catch on among reputed tech-savvy 8-14 year olds who’ve had computers and digital cameras and cell-phones since birth - and iPods half their lives. Shouldn’t they recognize a dead-end technology when they see it? Or, are they recognizing something about this technology that I’m missing?

Ask someone in that age group, “Would you rather have a pen-top computer or a $100 iTunes gift card” and see what technology wins. (Granted, they’d rather have something wrapped up in a box under a tree.)

I would ask my in-house focus group of that demographic. Unfortunately, while I wasn’t looking, they grew out of the demographic. (No, I didn’t shoot them.)

P.S. This is the kind of whining I’m going to quit doing in 2006.

Blog-lite: Perhaps it’s a good thing that I’m traveling today. Several items in my newsreader make me want to whine. And I’m trying to get an early start on my 2006 resolution to whine less.

Warning - Don’t open Pandora’s box: It’s streaming music — online radio, let’s say — but the playlist is based on the song you select to play first. You can even set up multiple “stations” based on different starting songs. Fascinating, very fascinating (but addictive).

(via: ResourceShelf)